EDELWEISS-III experiment: Status and first low WIMP mass results

The EDELWEISS-III collaboration is operating an experiment for the direct detection of Weakly Interacting Massive Particle (WIMPs) dark matter in the low radioactivity environment of the Modane Underground Laboratory. It consists of 24 advanced high-purity germanium detectors operating at 18 mK in a dilution refrigerator in order to identify rare nuclear recoils induced by elastic scattering of WIMPs from our Galactic halo. The current EDELWEISS-III program, including improvements of the background, data-acquisition and the current installation will be detailed. Sources of background along with the rejection techniques will be discussed. Detector performances and a first low WIMP mass (Boosted Decision Tree) BDT- based analysis of data acquired in a long-term campaign will be presented as well

Early numerical skills in individuals with Down Syndrome

The aim of the present work was to explore early mathematical competences in individuals with Down Syndrome (DS). Intellectual Disability has been identified as one of the most important features in this population. The behavioral phenotype of individuals with DS is characterized by deficits in cognitive functions and learning abilities. A numerical battery was administered to a group of 11 individuals with DS and 11 Typically Developed (TD) children matched for mental age, as assessed with the Logical Operations Test. The findings revealed that early numerical skills of individuals with DS were well aligned to mental age: the two groups presented similar competences in counting, in mental calculation and cardinality. Moreover, individuals with DS read better Arabic numbers than the control group. Data concerning the discrimination of numbers in individuals with DS was also taken into consideration. Certainly, more research on children with DS is needed although the findings here presented have implications to understand the development of numerical skills in DS and to improve the neuropsychological assessment of children with this genetic condition

Sample volume length and registration accuracy assessment in quality controls of PW Doppler diagnostic systems: a comparative study

In clinical diagnostics, Pulsed Wave (PW) Doppler is one of the most used spectral Doppler techniques since it provides quantitative information about the severity of several cardiac disorders. Therefore, routine quality control tests should be scheduled to check whether a proper level of performance is maintained over time. Despite continuous research in the field, performance evaluation of Doppler equipment is still an open issue. Therefore, the present study is focused on the comparative investigation based on a test parameter for the automatic analysis of faults in sample volume length and range gate registration accuracy. The Velocity Profile Discrepancy Index (VPDI) provides a quantitative estimation according to the agreement between the theoretical parabolic velocity profile and the measured one. The index was assessed through an automatic method that post-processes PW spectrogram images acquired at six sample volume depths with respect to the vessel radius of a Doppler reference device. Tests were repeated for three brand-new ultrasound diagnostic systems, equipped with convex and phased array probes, in two working conditions. From the analysis of the results, a lower discrepancy between the measured and the theoretical velocity profile was found for the convex array probes as well as a lower uncertainty contribution

A Novel Equivalent Time Sampling-Based Method for Pulse Transit Time Estimation with Applications into the Cardiovascular Disease Diagnosis

The increasing incidence of cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) is reflected in additional costs for healthcare systems all over the world. To date, pulse transit time (PTT) is considered a key index of cardiovascular health status and for diagnosis of CVDs. In this context, the present study focuses on a novel image analysis-based method for PTT estimation through the application of equivalent time sampling. The method, which post-processes color Doppler videos, was tested on two different setups: a Doppler flow phantom set in pulsatile mode and an in-house arterial simulator. In the former, the Doppler shift was due to the echogenic properties of the blood mimicking fluid only, since the phantom vessels are non-compliant. In the latter, the Doppler signal relied on the wall movement of compliant vessels in which a fluid with low echogenic properties was pumped. Therefore, the two setups allowed the measurement of the flow average velocity (FAV) and the pulse wave velocity (PWV), respectively. Data were collected through an ultrasound diagnostic system equipped with a phased array probe. Experimental outcomes confirm that the proposed method can represent an alternative tool for the local measurement of both FAV in non-compliant vessels and PWV in compliant vessels filled with low echogenic fluids

Inserción laboral de psicólogos egresados del Programa de Prácticas Preprofesionales del Contexto Jurídico: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, período 2007-2014

El Contexto Jurídico del Programa de Prácticas Preprofesionales de la Facultad de Psicología de la UNC, prioriza la formación de estudiantes de Psicología en temáticas ligadas a la promoción de derechos humanos y la prevención de la violencia. Tiene por objetivo, introducir a las estudiantes de Psicología que efectúan las Prácticas Preprofesionales en el Contexto Jurídico, al campo de estudio y análisis de las problemáticas de violencia en sus distintas modalidades, generando espacios de capacitación teórico-práctico en el abordaje en red de distintas modalidades de violencia. La evaluación del programa, es un proceso permanente de retroalimentación, que permite valorar su funcionamiento, medir su impacto en los estudiantes, para introducir ajustes y adecuaciones de mejora. La presente investigación evaluativa del Programa es continuación de dos estudios anteriores subsidiados por la Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica de la UNC, convocatorias 2012-2013 y 2014-2015. Se realiza una exploración para analizar si la capacitación desarrollada a traves de las diferentes instancias de las Prácticas Preprofesionales del Contexto Jurídico, se encuentra vinculada a las tareas profesionales con las que trabajan los egresados de la carrera de Psicología de la UNC, que han cursado las Prácticas Preprofesionales del Contexto Jurídico. Conocer las tareas laborales desarrolladas en el recorrido profesional de los egresados, posibilita articular el proceso de formación preprofesional con la realidad de los graduados y mejorar la calidad del aprendizaje que se genera a través de las Prácticas Preprofesionales del Contexto Jurídico.Mesa de trabajos libres: Enseñanza en PsicologíaFacultad de Psicologí

MEASURING REGULARITY OF FINE UPPER LIMB MOVEMENTS WITH A HAPTIC PLATFORM FOR MOTOR LEARNING AND REHABILITATION

Robot-assisted systems for arm training are being increasingly used to target moderate-to-severe upper limb impairments in rehabilitation facilities, while hand fine motor skills are seldom being targeted by these machines. This manuscript describes and tests the feasibility of a system based on a haptic interface aimed to complement the efficacy of robotic training in the rehabilitation and motor learning associated with upper extremities movements. End-effector kinematics associated with different trajectory tasks performed by 11 healthy adults were used to extract measures of smoothness, under different testing conditions that included the presence or absence of visual and haptic feedback, the use of dominant vs. non dominant hand, different shapes (crosses and circles), and the verse with which movements were done. The normalized mean square jerk, extracted from the system together with specific speed parameters, was able to capture differences in regularity between the different shapes (MSJratio significantly higher when drawing crosses, p < 1.0 E-4), and that haptic feedback significantly influences this smoothness measure (MSJratio significantly higher when haptic feedback is present, p < 5.0 E-4). The proposed system may be used as a means to monitor the progress of movement regularity in robot-mediated therapy, and the results obtained experimentally highlight the influence of haptic feedback on the smoothness of finalized upper extremity fine movements

Inserción laboral de psicólogos egresados del Programa de Prácticas Preprofesionales del Contexto Jurídico: Facultad de Psicología, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, período 2007-2014

El Contexto Jurídico del Programa de Prácticas Preprofesionales de la Facultad de Psicología de la UNC, prioriza la formación de estudiantes de Psicología en temáticas ligadas a la promoción de derechos humanos y la prevención de la violencia. Tiene por objetivo, introducir a las estudiantes de Psicología que efectúan las Prácticas Preprofesionales en el Contexto Jurídico, al campo de estudio y análisis de las problemáticas de violencia en sus distintas modalidades, generando espacios de capacitación teórico-práctico en el abordaje en red de distintas modalidades de violencia. La evaluación del programa, es un proceso permanente de retroalimentación, que permite valorar su funcionamiento, medir su impacto en los estudiantes, para introducir ajustes y adecuaciones de mejora. La presente investigación evaluativa del Programa es continuación de dos estudios anteriores subsidiados por la Secretaría de Ciencia y Técnica de la UNC, convocatorias 2012-2013 y 2014-2015. Se realiza una exploración para analizar si la capacitación desarrollada a traves de las diferentes instancias de las Prácticas Preprofesionales del Contexto Jurídico, se encuentra vinculada a las tareas profesionales con las que trabajan los egresados de la carrera de Psicología de la UNC, que han cursado las Prácticas Preprofesionales del Contexto Jurídico. Conocer las tareas laborales desarrolladas en el recorrido profesional de los egresados, posibilita articular el proceso de formación preprofesional con la realidad de los graduados y mejorar la calidad del aprendizaje que se genera a través de las Prácticas Preprofesionales del Contexto Jurídico.Mesa de trabajos libres: Enseñanza en PsicologíaFacultad de Psicologí